Dry Fire Question?

I own a glock 17, and i am trying to improve my shooting by dry firing the weapon. The way i do it is: i pull the trigger when the gun is empty, but i always have to pull the slide back everytime to release the trigger again for the next shot. Is this the way to dry-fire the gun or am i doing it wrong, or do i need snap caps in order not to have to pull back the slide everytime to realease the trigger?

You go it! I like folks to use a SNAP cap when they dry fire for two big reasons? First it ensures that you are knowing whats in the chamber when you Pull the trigger and second, it's better for the Pistol! Dry fire is not good for most autos' and many revolvers don't handle it well either! YES, you will have to Chamber a new one and cock the gun, I like to use a Mag of like 6 then all I do is dry fire, Manually operate the slide, chamber a new snap cap and repeat, it's a slow, steady deal and it's relaxing once you get into the cadence of it? Plus, It lets you focus on the Most Important part, that of Squeezing the tripper, not jerking or Yanking it? LOL In all seriousness, more folks should Dry fire more, thier trips to the range and Day to Day life, shooting would improve greatly! Good question and Good Luck in this, let us know how it works out for ya, OK?

run the risk of getting mixed up in your mind (or gun) with live ammo. Dry-fire practice should be without any ammo, or anything that looks like ammo, in the room with you. Front Sight, of Las Vegas, has a great manual of dry-fire practice available free from their web site.

Back to the question at hand, you only need to pull the slide about 1/2 inch to reset the trigger; and, dry fire a Glock all you like without fear of damage...

As mentioned the slide doesn't have to go all the way back just enough to cock it. So there isn't any reason to eject the rubber dry fire bullet except for practicing replacing magazines. I keep the trigger pulled back after I fire and then manually cock it and slowly release the trigger until it resets and then slowly pull it again to fire. Less finger and trigger movement & no grip movement to speak of.

Just to put in my 2 cents; I NEVER dry-fire any gun without a snap cap in the chamber. It may be overcautious, but in SOME guns, dropping the hammer on an empty chamber can cause the firing pin to crystallize at the tip and eventually break. It can also cause peening inside the firing pin chamber or to the frame of the gun, leading to punctured primers and also eventually breaking the pin.

Some manufacturers specifically warn against snapping on an empty chamber (e.g. Kel-Tec), and I know of none that specifically say it's OK. Glocks are the toughest handguns I've ever heard of, but even they were designed to have that firing pin hit something and not nothing.

Like anything else concerning firearms, I don't believe in taking chances or trusting to luck. I do NOT like surprises, on the firing line or in the street.

One should, of course, keep snap caps separated from live ammo--but since all the snap caps I've ever seen were made of transparent plastic, you'd have to be pretty careless or pretty drunk to mix them up anyway.

I can only speak for myself, but I don't gamble when it comes to damaging my guns. Not even little gambles. It's not that much trouble to take to avoid what MIGHT be a major problem.

Some manufacturers specifically warn against snapping on an empty chamber (e.g. Kel-Tec), and I know of none that specifically say it's OK. Glocks are the toughest handguns I've ever heard of, but even they were designed to have that firing pin hit something and not nothing.

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The Glock Armorer's Class is of a different opinion. It is perfectly fine to dry-fire your Glock all you want, with nothing in the chamber. In fact, you need to dry-fire it in order to take it down to clean.

The Glock Armorer's Class is of a different opinion. It is perfectly fine to dry-fire your Glock all you want, with nothing in the chamber. In fact, you need to dry-fire it in order to take it down to clean.

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OK, I stand corrected as far as Glocks are concerned.

In any case, I never meant to say that an occasional snap on an empty chamber would necessarily be harmful; I was more concerned with incessant dry-fire practice that involves hundreds of snaps. If Glock says that's OK, who am I to argue?

Absent similar statements from other manufacturers for their particular guns, though, I still think it's a bad idea and would advise against it. Since snap caps are cheap and easy to use, and DEFINITELY won't damage your gun, I don't see how there could be a strong argument AGAINST using them.

As others have already mentioned, you only need a half inch (or less) of rearward slide travel to reset the trigger. Practicing trigger reset and a straight back press are invaluable exercises. Having a pard or spouse stand next to you to move the slide while you maintain a proper two-handed grip is also great if you can find a willing volunteer. You can dry fire a Glock for thousands of rounds w/o damage. Call BS if you'd like, but I've got over 20K dry fires on one of my Glocks (model 22) with no ill effects.
GL